1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed generally to mobile wireless network services. In particular, the invention is directed to a delivery mechanism for delivering broadcast video channels to mobile wireless devices.
2. Description of the Related Art
Operators of mobile wireless networks want to offer their users a variety of broadcast video channels. A broadcast video channel is a broadcast video channel that can be viewed by many different users at the same time. Each user will see the same part of the video at the same time as other users. In contrast, a streamed broadcast video channel is a broadcast video channel that is sent only to a user that requests it. The same streaming video may be requested by different users, but each user will receive their own stream. Each streaming video user will see a different part of the video than the other users viewing at the same time.
Currently, to deliver broadcast video channels to mobile wireless devices, a network operator uses a server called a mobile broadcast service center to route a set of all the broadcast video channels the network operator offers through a wireless mobile communication network to each radio network controller in the network.
Routing a set of all offered broadcast video channels to each radio network controller has the advantage that little or no modifications need to be made to the mobile wireless network. However, routing a set of all offered broadcast video channels to each radio network controller is not an efficient use of transmission links in the network. This practice is inefficient since channels routed to a radio network controller are not forwarded unless requested for mobile wireless devices served by that radio network controller, and many are usually not requested at any one time. This inefficiency becomes worse as the network operator offers more channels since the ratio between the number of channels requested and the number offered usually becomes smaller. Compounding the inefficiency is the fact that requests for broadcast video channels are not evenly distributed geographically. Mobile video users are concentrated in some areas such as urban centers and most of the time their usage is limited to several popular broadcast video channels. In some areas, some channels may never be requested.
The cost of transport for broadcast video channels across the network transmission links is significant and this cost is highest on the transmission links nearer the network edge (i.e., the base stations). What is needed is a way to route broadcast video channels responsive to requests in order to minimize use of the network transmission links, particularly those nearer the network edge, while minimizing the amount of changes to the mobile wireless network.